Razzaza Lake

Razzaza, also called Lake Milh, the salt lake, was created when a natural depression was used as an overflow for Euphrates floodwater through the Habbaniyah system, and for decades it supported a substantial fishery and lakeside settlements. Reduced inflow, evaporation and rising salinity have shrunk it considerably and the fishery has collapsed, leaving salt flats where water used to be and abandoned facilities on the old shore. What remains is still a large body of water in flat desert, important for migrating and wintering birds including flamingos, pelicans and waders, and the emptiness has its own effect. It lies on the road between Karbala and Ain al-Tamr and is usually seen in passing rather than as a destination.

History

The lake was made in the latter half of the 1970s, downstream of Hawr al-Habbaniyah, as a flood control measure for the waters of the Euphrates; its two names mean "lake of spray" and "lake of salt" (Wikipedia, Lake Milh).

Highlights

• The open saline lake - a broad sheet of water in flat desert.
• Salt flats - exposed crust where the water has retreated.
• Migrating birds - flamingos, pelicans and waders in season.
• Abandoned shore facilities - the remains of the old fishery settlements.

When to go

November to March for birds and bearable temperatures. Water levels and salinity vary year to year and affect how much lake there is. Summer here is severe and the shore is entirely exposed.

What to expect

The lake has shrunk substantially and the shoreline is often far from the road. Salt flats can be soft and vehicles get stuck. There are no facilities. Birds are distant and need optics. This is a stop rather than an outing.

Nearby

Karbala lies east; Ain al-Tamr is west.

Key facts